A few days after taken power in Afghanistan And amid the uncertainty about what this new stage of Islamic fundamentalism in power will be like, the taliban they begin to feel pressure from the international communityWhile the United Nations (UN) has already withdrawn almost all its personnel from the country, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) blocked the regime’s access to some 400 million dollars of emergency reserves and Human Rights Watch (HRW) he declared himself “on alert” about the situation of Human Rights.
The UN withdrawal began a few hours after the Taliban took Kabul. The organization’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said Wednesday that about 100 employees were moving to Almaty, Kazakhstan.
“This is a temporary measure designed to allow the UN to continue providing assistance to the people of Afghanistan with the minimum of disruption while reducing the risk to UN personnel,” he said.
Dujarric did not specify whether the personnel being relocated were international or Afghan, or both. If it is international, it would represent approximately one third of the foreign personnel of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). UNAMA employs some 300 foreigners at its headquarters in Kabul, as well as more than 700 Afghan nationals.
IMF closes the tap
On the other hand, the IMF announced on Wednesday that it will suspend the funds for Afghanistan due to the uncertainty about the situation of the new government.
“As always, the IMF is guided by the views of the international community. There is currently a lack of clarity within the international community regarding the recognition of a government in Afghanistan, as a result of which the country cannot access SDRs (Special Drawing Rights) or other resources of the IMF, ”said a spokesperson.
The IMF was to release a final tranche of aid to Kabul under a program approved on November 6, 2020 for a total amount of $ 370 million. This 42-month (three-and-a-half-year) program resulted in an immediate outlay of $ 115 million. A second tranche of aid worth $ 149.4 million was disbursed in early June, following an initial review of the program’s progress.
Some 105.6 million dollars remained to be delivered for this aid plan, granted within the framework of the Extended Credit Facility, whose objective was to support the Afghan economy, strongly affected by the pandemic.
The IMF has 190 member countries that are divided over Afghanistan. After two decades of trying to defeat the Taliban, Western powers are faced with the difficult choice of whether or not to establish relations with the fundamentalist group which now controls Afghanistan.
The country, extremely dependent on international aid, is one of the poorest in the world.
Human Rights: there is concern
Meanwhile, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) He affirmed that for now the Taliban have only offered “vague words” in relation to the respect of freedoms and Human Rights in Afghanistan and urged that they publicly commit to comply with the treaties in force and allow the presence of the UN and independent international observers.
HRW’s campaign manager for Asia, John Sifton, believes that “the Taliban need to demonstrate their commitment to Human Rights with action.”
“Gaining the trust of the nation and the world will require that the Taliban authorities throughout the country respect the Human Rights of all,” he added, aware of the risk run by vulnerable groups such as women, government officials or collaborators with foreign military personnel.
In fact, HRW and other organizations collected information on alleged extrajudicial executions of officials by the Taliban in recent weeks.
In the case of women, Sifton stressed that “The Taliban cannot claim that women and men have the same rights while using discriminatory language”. “It was precisely these kinds of misogynistic views that reached brutal extremes the previous time the Taliban had power,” he warned, alluding to the regime deposed in 2001.
The head of HRW considers it “key” that the UN can launch a mechanism to investigate Human Rights in Afghanistan and publicly report the real situation, regardless of promises. The Human Rights Council is scheduled to meet urgently next Tuesday and HRW hopes that a resolution will be adopted that will open the door to an investigation.
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on Sunday, nearly two decades after they were toppled by a US-led invasion following the attacks of September 11, 2001.
His sudden victory, which was precipitated after the withdrawal of American troops, caused chaos at the Kabul airport, as the United States and allied countries try to safely remove thousands of citizens.
With information from agencies.
